Elvis and the Men Who Would Be King

Elizabeth Taylor is officially the highest earning dead celebrity of 2012, according to Forbes' annual list. The iconic actress, who suffered heart failure at the age of 79 last March, has earned $210 million this past year. That is $45 million more than the highest paid living celeb, Oprah Winfrey.
Taylor beat out Michael Jackson for the top spot, owed in part to her record-breaking Christie’s auction, which brought in $184 million by selling her jewelry, costumes, and art work, including an 1889 Van Gogh painting that sold for $16 million. Her estate (which gives a portion of her earnings to her AIDS Foundation) also profited from her White Diamonds perfume sales and from her films.
The king of pop raked in $145 million last year — more than any living artist — and would have snagged the top spot had it not been for Taylor's auctions earnings.
Forbes' list is compiled from earnings between October 2011 and October 2012. Forbes only looks at the money that comes into each estate; how the estate deals with the money is not taken into account. Check out the full list below:
1. Elizabeth Taylor: $210 million
2. Michael Jackson: $145 million
3. Elvis Presley: $55 million
4. Charles Schulz: $37 million
5. Bob Marley: $17 million
6. John Lennon: $12 million
7. Marilyn Monroe: $10 million
7. Albert Einstein: $10 million
9. Theodor Geisel: $9 million
10. Steve McQueen: $8 million
10. Bettie Page: $8 million
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S10E26: Well, folks, last night wasn’t exactly the best crop of performances on Idol. It was movie week, which is just begging to be a slew of cheesy ballads that put most of us to sleep, and for a few contestants, that’s exactly what happened. Of course, because this year we’ve got some really interesting folks up on stage, there were a few unique, wonderful performances, but I literally wanted to push the mute button in the middle of a couple of the others.
Once again, I think the problem is the folks they have surrounding them. The judges are completely useless. Jennifer even pointed out that people want them to be meaner, but said she couldn’t say anything bad. Randy didn’t even add any criticism. Well, I sure can. The other problem is the combination of Jimmy Iovine and Wil.I.Am (who I thought was a special guest; I’m not sure why he’s still here). Between Jimmy’s creatively stifling ideas, to Wil.I.Am. telling the contestants to ignore him, I can’t imagine any of these kids know what they’re doing or how they should be doing it. It’s like a family where the parents blow smoke up your ass and your two older brothers give you outlandish ideas to see how fast you’ll crack and go crying to mom and dad like a little crazy person.
It’s annoying, because at this point everyone up there has their own version of talent, but we see them use it in an unfitting way because many of them have no idea what they’re doing. They are voices without direction. But there are a few folks up there who have their own artistic sensibilities and bring their own ideas to the stage and that is a great deal of what determined my rankings today.
Casey Abrams
“Nature Boy” by Nat King Cole (Moulin Rouge)
Casey is back in a big way. I love that not only did he really bring his own style to this song, but he basically told Jimmy Iovine to suck it and it worked. The guy’s got balls. And he’s fantastic. I love that we never know what he’s going to do when he gets up there. American Idol has become such an irrelevant gauge for determining the next big star in recent years, so I love that he’s using this stage to let his creativity take all different forms. He’s a true artist and while that’s new for Idol, I love it.
Lauren Alaina
“The Climb” by Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana The Movie)
This is weird for me. Not only am I the last person to be okay with a song from Hannah Montana The Movie, but I’m certainly not going to be into a Miley Cyrus ballad. Yet here I am, putting it at number two and all the credit goes to Lauren. While I was also incensed by Iovine’s idea that she should steal Pia’s voters (the girl is 16, she’s not going to think that way), I see why he said that. She’s got the crazy pipes and incredible clarity. What she accomplished that Pia hadn’t managed to do, was to make the song sound like it was her own. We all know it’s a Miley song, but in last night’s performance, you’d swear it was written for Lauren.
Paul McDonald
“Old Time Rock and Roll” by Bob Segar (Risky Business)
So he didn’t do the whole Tom Cruise sliding around in his underwear thing, but the performance was a good time nonetheless. Every week, Paul gets more and more brazen about being himself onstage. Yes, he’s quirky, he has an affinity for suits with giant red flowers, and he does that spastic dancing like he just can’t contain the music, and yes, I love all of that. This was a perfect song choice, it was fun to watch, and it had Paul written all over it.
Jacob Lusk
“Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel (Elvis: That’s the Way It Is)
Once again, Jacob showed us what a skilled singer he is. He knocked it out of the park with a song that I probably would never have chosen. Time and again, this song is the butt of every joke. How many times have you seen drunken Elvis impersonators do it on TV or in a movie? Jacob took a song that lent itself to that sort of stigma and made it something interesting to watch. I hope voters put more faith in him this week; he doesn’t belong in the bottom three.
Haley Reinhart
“Call Me” by Blondie (American Gigolo)
For once, Haley did not impress me. It’s like she took all that momentum she’s been building and threw it away. Part of it was the song choice – it’s really not for her. It doesn’t really allow for her to use her specific talents in any way. Sure she sounded fine and she looked great, but the song was just wrong and she didn’t take it and turn it on its head which is what you’d have to do in order to really make it work.
Stefano Langone
“End of the Road” by Boyz II Men (Boomerang)
Technically, I have no complaints about how Stefano sang. I simply have the same general problem I have every week: he doesn’t perform as if he owns the song. So many other folks on this show would let us think that the songs they’re covering are their own. The meld their own styles with the songs, but Stefano – though talented – always makes it feel like he’s that annoying guy at the karaoke bar who knows he can singer better than the other drunk people. He’s just so vanilla.
James Durbin
“Call It Heavy Metal” by Sammy Hagar (Heavy Metal)
Not only have I said time and again that I’m over James’ showy nonsense, but he the he goes and claims he wants to bring metal to American Idol. Not only is that practically impossible, but his performance was the least metal thing I’ve ever seen. The rock gods would not be pleased. It was an insult to metal and to my ears. Seriously, this kid is all show and no substance and it’s about time people figured it out.
Scotty McCreery
“I Cross My Heart” by George Strait (Pure Country)
I’m putting Scotty last the same way my mom used to put me in time-out. I’m disappointed in him. None of the judges seemed to notice, but not only was this song the sleepiest, most lackluster song he could choose, but he didn’t perform it like we know he can. He was pitchy, he was all over the place, he was boring, and he was not bringing his usual Southern boy charm. He can do better and we need to see that.
Who’s going home? I’d put my money on Stefano, but after last week’s elimination, I won't be surprised if I'm completely wrong.

The Tourist is about as difficult to get through as spotting the vowels in the name of its director. Florian Henckel von Donnersmark was last seen receiving a Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2007 for The Lives of Others which was about a couple living in East Berlin who were being monitored by the police of the German Democratic Republic. Its positive reception made way for the assumption that Donnersmark would continue to populate the USA with films of seemingly otherworldly and underrepresented themes. But his current project is saddening in its superficiality and total implausibility.
The film’s only real upside is its stars: two of our most prized Americans. Johnny Depp plays Frank Tupelo a math teacher from Wisconsin who travels to Europe after his wife leaves him presumably because of his weakness and simplicity. While en route to Venice he meets Elise Clifton-Ward (Angelina Jolie) who situates herself in his company after she receives a letter from her criminal lover Alexander Pearce (who stole some billions from a very wealthy Russian and the British government) with instructions to find someone on a train who looks like him and make the police believe that he is the real Alexander Pearce to throw the authorities and the Russians off his track. Elise picks Frank and after they are photographed kissing each other on the balcony of Elise’s hotel everyone begins to believe Frank is the real Pearce and so begins the chase.
While Donnersmark could not have picked two better looking people to film roaming around Venice his lack of faith in the audience is obvious. Every aspect of the characters is hammed up again and again as if Donnersmark felt burdened with the task of making us see his vision. Doubtful that we’re capable of getting to where he wants us he has crafted a movie completely devoid of subtlety. Elise’s strength and superiority over Frank are portrayed by close-ups and repeated instances of men burping up their lungs upon seeing her (as if her beauty is in any way subjective?). And in case we forgot that Frank is the victim in this story -- even though he’s been tricked chased and shot at - Donnersmark still felt the need to pin him with a lame electronic cigarette to puff on. Frank and Elise somehow manage to lack mystery even though we get very few factual details about each of them.
Nothing extraordinary comes to us in the way of the film’s structural elements either. There is very little of the action that The Tourist’s marketing led us to believe and the dialog is often painful. The plot itself is almost shockingly unbelievable especially when we’re asked to believe that Elise falls in love with Frank after a combination of kissing him once and her disclosed habit of swooning over men she only spent an hour with (yes that was on her CV).
The Tourist is rather empty and cosmetic. It’s worth seeing if you’re a superfan of Jolie or Depp but don’t expect to walk out of the theater with anything more than the stub you came in with.

Top Story: Judge Orders Diaz Pics Sealed
On Monday, Judge Alan Haber ordered sealed photos and a videotape of Cameron Diaz taken at a private modeling session about a decade ago, saying the actress has a right to privacy of her own body. He set a Sept. 12 hearing in Superior Court on her request for an injunction against photographer John Rutter, The Associated Press reports. Rutter told the syndicated news show Inside Edition in mid-July that he'd contacted Diaz's lawyers to offer them the photos before he sold them to any media outlets. Rutter said it was a negotiation for a right of first refusal with Diaz's lawyers, but added that his place was raided a few hours after her lawyers offered to buy the pics. Diaz's publicist said the Charlie's Angels actress never signed a photo release and a signed release produced by Rutter was a forgery.
Leno Gets "Queer" Makeover
NBC thinks the host of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is in need of a makeover--a Queer makeover, that is. The network said Monday it will bring the Fab Five makeover team from Bravo's new hit reality sensation Queer Eye For the Straight Guy for a pair of special appearances on Tonight Show next week. Reuters reports the quintet will make their Tonight Show debut as guests Aug. 14 and return the following night for the makeover. Queer Eye features five gay men with expertise in good grooming, food, fashion, culture and interior design coming to the aid of a unfashionable heterosexual. The hour-long show has become a major ratings winner for NBC-owned Bravo. NBC, which aired the first half-hour repeat of the show last month, plans to telecast a second 30-minute primetime installment on Aug. 14, the same evening as the Fab Five's debut on the Tonight Show.
Carly Simon To Reveal Who's "So Vain"
But we still may never know. Singer Carly Simon is about to reveal who she was talking about in her 1972 hit song "You're So Vain," but not to the public. Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC sports and NBC Olympics, won the prized information with a $50,000 bid in a charity auction and has vowed never to divulge the name Simon will tell to him after a private performance in about two weeks. Ebersol told NBC's Today show Tuesday that Simon gave him one clue about the man's identity that she said he could reveal: He has the letter "e" in his name. The usual suspects include: actor Warren Beatty, whom Simon dated; Mick Jagger, who sang backup on the song; and her ex-husband, James Taylor.
Flynt: "A Smut Peddler Who Cares"
Porn king Larry Flynt formally announced his bid for California governor Monday, Reuters reports, but Flynt, who made millions publishing raunchy sex magazines such as Hustler, recognized that voters might not be able to get past his background. "If the support is there, I am willing to go the distance. If not, I will fade into the sunset," he said. Flynt, who referred to himself a "smut peddler who cares," said that as governor he would launch a study into the legalization of prostitution, grant amnesty to all illegal immigrants currently in California before securing the state's borders, and expand the state's gaming industry and tax casino revenue to help wipe out the state budget deficit. The 61-year-old Flynt is one of some 200 people who have taken out initial paperwork to challenge Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in an election some analysts say is making California a laughingstock.
U.S. Authorities Investigating Modeling Agencies
U.S. authorities are looking into charges that several modeling agencies, including Elite Model Management and Ford Models Inc., conspired to cheat their clients by charging inflated commissions and expenses, Reuters reports. The civil class action lawsuit, filed in Manhattan, NYC, federal court, alleges the agencies fixed models' commission rates at 20 percent, twice the 10 percent allowed by state law for employment agencies. Elite models include actress Lara Flynn Boyle and Lauren Bush, niece of President Bush, while Ford represents supermodels like Christie Brinkley, Jerry Hall and Rachel Hunter.
Study: TV Media Hiring Less Minorities
Results from the latest Radio-Television News Directors Assn./Ball State University Annual Survey of TV and radio newsrooms were released last week, and many television executives are alarmed by its findings, reports The Hollywood Reporter. The annual study, conducted in the fourth quarter of 2002, shows the number of minorities in TV news dropped to 18.1 percent compared with 20.6 percent the previous year. In management, minority representation fell by 39 percent at non-Hispanic stations while blacks make up just 0.9 percent of news directors--a whopping 55 percent decline from last year's study. Smaller recruitment budgets, the recession and a lack of internal development and training programs could all be factors in stifling minority hiring, as well as the "old boy network," with people going with what they feel comfortable with.
Crowe's 30 Odd Foot of Grunts To Play Chicago
Australian actor Russell Crowe's band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, will headline Chicago's House of Blues for a five-night stand Aug. 17-19, 21 and 23, Billboard.com reports. According to the band's official Web site, "the band will be joined by some special guests for these shows." The 30 Odd Foot of Grunts' tour is to support their latest album, Other Ways of Speaking, which made its U.S. debut in April at No. 16 on Billboard's Top Internet Albums Sales chart and No. 34 on the Top Independent Albums tally. While in the windy city, the group also plans to tape an episode of PBS' Soundstage with Kris Kristofferson.
Role Call: Basinger and Zwick Team Up for Elvis Comedy
Kim Basinger is set to star as a cosmetic saleswoman whose life is strangely entangled with Elvis Presley in the romantic comedy Elvis Has Left the Building for director Joel Zwick. The film is Zwick's first feature since he hit the jackpot with My Big Fat Greek Wedding. According to Variety, Basinger's character accidentally kills a couple of Elvis impersonators

Synopsis

Documentary that travels into the lives and minds of Elvis Presley impersonators and the sub-culture of Elvis. The program presents the story of four impersonators who are performing in regional contests with the hope of getting into the finals of the Images of Elvis concert in Memphis and being crowned world champion.